Chapter 236: Working Together to Help Out
Jian Xingxia’s heart turned ice-cold as she looked at the mission breakdown on the virtual panel.
She should have known the system wouldn’t issue such a simple mission!
The system didn’t define “selling” as merely collecting a deposit; it required a physical delivery to count as a completed sale!
And now she had a mere twenty-four hours to deliver five sets of clothing!
As ecstatic as she had been laughing just moments ago, she was crying just as miserably now.
Jian Xingxia hurriedly called Lin Sanniang over and explained the situation. “I have to hand these clothes over to the guests at this exact hour tomorrow. Can your side pull it off?”
The moment Lin Sanniang heard this, she said, “I’ll take the fabrics and go back right away!”
With that, she promptly set down her current work, gathered the fabrics, needles, and thread, and rushed back to the Great Liang Dynasty.
Lin Sanniang jogged the entire way until she reached the home of her eldest sister, Lin Daniang.
She pounded heavily on the door with a loud thud. Startled, Lin Daniang hurried over to open it. Seeing Lin Sanniang completely drenched in sweat, her heart nearly stopped.
“What is going on? What has made you in such a frantic rush?”
Lin Sanniang panted heavily. “Eldest Sister, the Manor Owner urgently needs clothing. Five sets must be handed over by the hour of the Rabbit tomorrow morning. Can you work through the night to make them?”
“How many? Five sets?” Lin Daniang doubted her own ears.
Even making a single set of clothing in five days was a tight schedule. To make five sets in a single day?
Lin Sanniang said anxiously, “Yes, five sets in total. We’ll make three sets first, and the Manor Owner said she will find someone else for the other two.”
Seeing Lin Sanniang’s frantic expression, Lin Daniang didn’t waste time grumbling about the heavy workload. Instead, she quickly began strategizing.
“Go fetch Hehua and Yuxiang. I know a few other sisters around here; I’ll go ask them right now to see if they’re free.”
Lin Sanniang nodded vigorously and added, “The reward is guaranteed—four catties of rice per person!”
The famine had not yet passed, and most citizens were barely surviving on the thin congee distributed for disaster relief. If working for a single day could earn someone four catties of white rice, it was life-saving rations.
It was enough to pull a family through until the famine ended.
Lin Sanniang hurriedly ran off to the homes of Hehua and Yuxiang. The moment Hehua heard the offer, she agreed immediately, leaving her household chores to her husband and mother-in-law. Grabbing her familiar sewing basket, she headed straight for Lin Daniang’s house.
Things were a bit more difficult at Yuxiang’s home. Yuxiang’s mother-in-law blocked her path, refusing to let her leave. “If you go, what will happen to the children?”
Yuxiang was furious. “What will happen to the children, what will happen to the children! If I stay at home, will the children magically be fed? If I go out, I can at least win a chance at survival for the whole family! If I don’t go, are you going to find food for this household?”
The mother-in-law muttered under her breath, still highly reluctant. “Can’t you just bring the work home like before? Why do you have to go out?”
Lately, Yuxiang had been working frequently alongside Lin Sanniang and the others, crafting numerous handkerchiefs, pouches, shoes, and clothes.
Lin Sanniang would present a portion of them to Jian Xingxia and keep the rest.
However, based on the going labor rates of the Great Liang Dynasty, she would distribute grain to Yuxiang and Hehua to support them.
Yuxiang’s mother-in-law now knew that Yuxiang was capable and could earn money, so she didn’t dare say too much.
But now that Yuxiang wanted to head out, her mother-in-law grew uncooperative, grumbling, “A proper woman should mind her domestic duties. Why are you running outside all day long?”
What if she was lured away by some stray man? How would the household survive then?
Yuxiang picked up a pair of scissors and pointed them directly at her mother-in-law. “If you let me go today, I will support this household for the sake of the children. If you refuse to let me go today, let me tell you—from this day forward, I won’t give you a single grain of rice!”
Yuxiang’s mother-in-law stared at Yuxiang for a long moment. “You are defying a woman’s proper virtue.”
Starving to death was a small matter, but losing one’s virtue was a grave sin. But most importantly—she knew Yuxiang wouldn’t lose her virtue, and she would definitely support the family.
After all, the children were at home.
Yuxiang let out a furious laugh. She stole a final glance at her children, then slashed through her mother-in-law’s hair bun with the scissors. Clutching her head in pure horror, the mother-in-law watched her graying hair scatter across the floor—a sight that was practically more terrifying than blood.
Startled, Yuxiang’s mother-in-law shrieked, “You, you, you… You are rebellious! How dare you strike your mother-in-law! I will have my son divorce you!”
Yuxiang laughed out loud. “Ha! Then go ahead and divorce me! I could ask for nothing better!”
Living in a home like this through days like these, if Lin Sanniang hadn’t been willing to give her a helping hand, she wouldn’t have been able to carry on long ago.
Otherwise, was she supposed to rely on a man who loved to drink and gamble, or a mother-in-law who did nothing but pick fights inside the house to keep herself entertained?
Yuxiang bolted out the door, dragging Lin Sanniang along as they ran.
Before Lin Sanniang could even ask her anything, Yuxiang spoke first: “Hurry! Didn’t you say the clothes are needed urgently? Let’s go right now!”
Only then did Lin Sanniang snap out of it. She nodded quickly, and together with Yuxiang, they fetched two more old friends.
Lin Daniang had also invited two friends over, along with a few daughters-in-law from the neighborhood who knew how to make clothes.
Lin Sanniang laid out the requirements for the garments one by one. “They aren’t difficult to make, but they must be cut exactly according to the measured dimensions. There must be no mistakes. We can minimize the embroidery, but the fabric must be stitched smoothly and evenly. These tassels, trims, cuffs, and pleats… must be done precisely according to the specifications.”
Lin Daniang immediately called out to one of her friends, “A-Zhi has the best tailoring skills. Cut the fabric with me first. The rest of you, take one garment each and stitch the main pieces together first.”
Ordinary citizens of the Great Liang Dynasty rarely could afford to buy ready-made clothes; not only were they expensive, but they also didn’t fit properly.
Usually, a family’s clothing relied entirely on the handiwork of the household’s women. An ordinary girl would start handling a needle and thread around her teenage years.
After decades of experience, it was second nature to them.
Apart from a few slight differences in the garment patterns and pleat requirements, everything went smoothly.
Lin Daniang and A-Zhi cut the fabric at lightning speed, and very quickly, everyone fell into their respective roles—some sewing, some pinning pleats.
Lin Sanniang let out a sigh of relief and implored them, “We must deliver the goods by the hour of the Rabbit tomorrow morning. This matter concerns my benefactor, so I must ask everyone to work hard for a day. Once the matter succeeds tomorrow, I will surely offer my profound thanks.”
Several of them hurriedly agreed, especially Hehua and Yuxiang. “Don’t just say she’s your benefactor; she is our benefactor too. If our benefactor hadn’t provided us with work, how could we have survived until now?”
Lin Sanniang smiled gratefully. “In that case, I thank you all deeply.”
Out of the five sets of clothing in total, Jian Xingxia handed the three that belonged to the mission over to Lin Sanniang.
Lin Sanniang knew plenty of tailors and embroiderers on her side, which would guarantee that the items produced would meet the mission requirements.
The other two sets were the orders Jian Xingxia had accepted first. She didn’t want the guests to feel that she treated people differently based on their orders, which would not only affect her reputation but also weigh heavily on her own conscience.
It was best to deliver them all together.
Therefore, those two also had to be completed before the hour of the Rabbit tomorrow morning.
Once Shaoyin and Ruan Xiang learned that Jian Xingxia was in an urgent rush to make the clothes, they took one set with them as well.
Although the two of them were dancing girls and weren’t skilled with a needle and thread, there were currently many people at Shaoyin’s residence. Women like Sister-in-law Cen and Helu were highly adept at making clothes.
Shaoyin said, “I will take a set back when my shift ends. Everyone will sew it together tonight, and either Ruan Xiang or I will bring it over before the hour of the Rabbit tomorrow morning.”
Jian Xingxia agreed.
For the final set, Jian Xingxia called Auntie Lu and Zhao Meihua up the mountain to help.
Although the tailoring skills of modern people had degraded significantly, someone of Auntie Lu’s age had lived through difficult times and had mended plenty of clothes in her life.
And Zhao Meihua turned out to be a delightful surprise.
